place

Cathay Building

1940 establishments in the British Empire1940 establishments in the Straits Settlements2003 disestablishments in SingaporeAC with 0 elementsBuildings and structures demolished in 2003
Cinemas in SingaporeDemolished buildings and structures in SingaporeLandmarks in SingaporeMuseum Planning AreaNational monuments of SingaporeOffice buildings completed in 1940Orchard Road
The Cathay Building in Singapore 1945
The Cathay Building in Singapore 1945

The Cathay Building (simplified Chinese: 国泰大厦; traditional Chinese: 國泰大廈; Malay: Bangunan Cathay) was opened in 1939 by Dato Loke Wan Tho as the headquarters for the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation. Located at 2 Handy Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore, the building was most known for its air-conditioned theatre known as the Cathay Cinema, then a technological marvel and the first to be built in Singapore. Cathay Building was the first skyscraper in Singapore and tallest building in Southeast Asia at that time.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cathay Building (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cathay Building
Handy Road, Singapore Museum

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Cathay BuildingContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 1.2993055555556 ° E 103.84763888889 °
placeShow on map

Address

The Cathay

Handy Road
229233 Singapore, Museum
Singapore
mapOpen on Google Maps

The Cathay Building in Singapore 1945
The Cathay Building in Singapore 1945
Share experience

Nearby Places

MacDonald House bombing
MacDonald House bombing

The MacDonald House bombing was a terrorist attack on the MacDonald House building in Orchard Road, Singapore. Occurring just a few months before Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia, the nitroglycerin bomb was planted by Indonesian saboteurs during the period of heightened Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, also known as the Konfrontasi. The explosion killed three people and injured at least 33 others. At the time, the building was used by HSBC.During this period, Indonesia openly opposed the formation of Malaysia, perceiving in its view that it was merely a neo-colonial state, especially for the British. Indonesian saboteurs mounted a campaign of terror in Singapore, then a major state and city within Malaysia. There were a total of 37 bombings from 1963 to 1966. They were trained to attack military installations and public utilities. However, when the saboteurs failed in their attempts to attack these installations that were heavily guarded, they set off bombs indiscriminately to create panic and disrupt life in Singapore as well as in Malaysia. By 1964, bomb explosions became frequent. To help the police and army defend Singapore from these attacks, a volunteer force was set up. More than 10,000 people signed up as volunteers. Community Centers served as bases for the volunteers to patrol their neighbourhoods. In schools, students underwent bomb drills. The government also warned Singaporeans not to handle any suspicious-looking parcels in the buildings or along streets. Despite the efforts of the British, small groups of saboteurs managed to infiltrate the island and plant bombs. By March 1965, a total of 29 bombs had been set off in Singapore.